Looks like a Chapron special-body Citroen DS convention that CC reader Chris spotted on the streets of Maastricht, the Netherlands. Leading off the parade of these beauties is what appears to be a DS 21 Cabrio d’Usine (factory body), which despite its name, was built by Henri Chapron’s bodyworks, but sold by regular Citroen dealers as a factory-listed car.
But the Chapron Lorraine Limousine behind it is in a different league.
Here’s a better look at the Cabrio’s graceful nose. The Cabrio is the rarest of the “factory” D cars; only some 1,365 were sold from 1958 through 1973. It used a special under-structure with reinforced side members and other modifications. I rather prefer the earlier single-headlight front end, but that’s a source of endless debate.
Here’s a look at its graceful tail. All of these special-bodies DS cars have rather unorthodox proportions, due to the realities of the DS, especially with its rear wheels positioned at the extreme end of the body. Some work better than others, and this one works very well indeed for me. And I’m not the only one; these are highly coveted cars.
The Lorraine sedan has the later faired-headlight version, with the lights that turned along with the front wheels, a feature not allowed in the US, as well as the headlight covers.
Chapron built a wide variety of special bodied DS Citroens, including President deGaulle’s longer-wheelbase Presidentiale. citronet.org.uk has a page of the various versions here.
Chris didn’t get a full profile shot of the Lorraine, so I’ll pop this one in, in order to get a proper idea of its more traditional proportions. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of absinthe, but undoubtedly there were a few folks with the money who wanted to have something more unique and distinct from the very common DS.
Undoubtedly this was anything but a random meeting of these two Chaprons. There’s a paper sign in the rear window of the Lorraine, but I can’t make it out. Regardless, it was a fortuitous street-side find.
Those appear to be diplomatic vehicles, from Djibouti? Note the “DJI” plaque and the embassadorial flags. I bet they’ve been attached to the Djibouti embassy to the Netherlands since…forever!
Probably ex-diplomatic vehicles. Those plates are regular Dutch plates for pre-1978 vehicles, yet imported later. From 1978 onwards the plates are yellow, with black signs.
AL-76-50: registered in 2004.
AM-15-71: registered in 2006.
The convertible is a 1966 model that was sent new to Djibouti to ferry President DeGaulle around during his visit of that year. After that, the car was left behind in Djibouti City for use by the governor (independence arrived in 1977).
The harsh climate and lack of local expertise meant the complex DS fell into disuse, but was “rescued” by a European and brought back to the UK for a full restoration.
If you enlarge the first photo, you are able to see the specially installed handrails on the back of the front seats, which allowed DeGaulle to stand upright during his tour of the city.
Nice to see the car restored and in use again.
A bit more info, as registered by the Dutch authorities:
AL-76-50 Citroën Chapron DS 521, first date of registration May 25, 1970.
AM-15-71 Citroën DS 21 convertible, first date of registration September 15, 1966.
The name “Lorraine” likely as in Alsace-Lorraine? That’s where the Saurs hailed from (German ethnicity, of course; ils ne sont pas Francais).
Yep, Lorraine is actually quite a large region, of which only the northeast was part of “Alsace-Lorraine” – and of that only about half is historically germanophone (“Lothringen”). The francophone area is historically significant for France f.e. Joan of Arc was from there. It may have something to do with the car carrying that name.
I think the paper sign says “Noir”. Written in the same style as in the shop’s name behind it. A special occasion that has to do something with that shop, I guess.
Maastricht is one of the oldest cities of the country, that’s about 2,000 years. Situated on both sides of the river Maas. Down south, in the only hilly (well, sort of) region of the whole country.
Back around 1972 or ’73, a friend of a friend had a black Citroen limousine stashed in his garage off Floyd Avenue in Richmond, along with an excellent DS21 Pallas. I never rode in the limo, unfortunately. It had a small CD (Corps Diplomatique) tag attached to the license plate, and was believed to have been sold off from the French Embassy. And yes, I too prefer the pre-’68 nose.
The one and only DS I’ve seen in Richmond was on Grove Avenue, which is of course only one short block away from Floyd. Coincidence?
(This was in 2014 mind you.)
I usually post under the handle ArBee, so I apologize for the confusion. If the one you saw was a 1958 red and white ID19, it was my old car from the early Seventies! Not likely it’s still alive, though. There were a fair number of D series around town then. They were sold locally by Boulevard Import Service, which is long gone now.
Nope, this was a post-68 with the quad lamps. Silver, though it could have been a respray. It didn’t appear to be in the best shape, but it was being driven, so there’s that!
It pulled in behind me as I was heading westward…I slowed down in hopes that he’d pass, but no luck, so I only saw it in my rearview.
And talk about the CC effect! I saw what must be that very car on the way home last evening, waiting on the light at Horsepen and Broad. It was driven by a fiftyish (?) man, glasses with a tweed cap. Yes, the paint did look like a respray. Now I’m going to be on the prowl through the Fan and Lower West End, stalking the elusive Citroen.
I’ve got to quit spending so much time in Montpelier and the West End. I’ve never seen either of these cars, and have been living here 17 years now.
For us Citroen lovers-this is heaven. Ces`t magnifique. The Lorraine looks like its cobbled up from two mismatched cars, but since this is a Citroen, it doesnt matter.
+1
+2. Had 2 in my family when I was a young’en, an Ami6 and a DS Cabriolet. If that Cabriolet was silver grey with a black top and a red leather interior I’d be off to the Netherlands in an attempt to bring it back home with me 🙂 .
Two beautiful and rare Citroens. To see both together? How very impressive!
Holy Toledo, CC comes to my town! Hadn’t expected that, looking at the trees and the weather, those photos must’ve been taken in the past few days. Was there an event going on I missed? Some diplomats of yore meeting in their respective cars (from Djibouti?!)? Wouldn’t be out of place here, mind you…
Sweet looking cars. I’ve only seen one Citroen DS, and I’ve never seen a convertible version, nor have I seen a Chapron Lorraine.
It’s a shame the ‘Lorraine’ badge is attached with visible screws. That cheapens the look of the whole car.
Very attractive,I’ve only seen pictures of the cabrio(Conservative MP Alan Clarke showed me photos of his when I met him on an animal rights demo).
Never heard of the Lorraine but I like it a lot
I highly recommend Clark’s book “Backfire – A Passion for Cars and Motoring”, a memoir of his lifetime love of automobiles. Clark writes most glowingly of his (wife’s) own DS Cabriolet which was the last one built by Chapron, I believe. His biography and diaries make for excellent reading as well.
That Chapron cabrio was one of Clarks favorite cars. He mentioned outpacing more ostensibly hairy chested sports cars with it, simply because it didn’t beat you to death. High average speeds could be maintained with comfort, far more satisfying than enduring a buckboard suspension and a blatting exhaust.
Those straight lines at the rear of the Lorraine are an uncomfortable mix with the curves of the front. They should have just rebodied the whole thing.
The sign in the window had the name of the shop in front of which the cars were parked. I forget the shop name, but this was on Stationstradt between the train station and the bridge in Maastricht.
– Chris
4 headlights and covers; that is how an aerodynamic car should be. They look like a shark, and sharks are evolved to pass thru the water with little drag. Two headlights looks like a frog; which I guess is sort of appropriate.
The French idyllic car is probably the “Johnny Cab” from the movie “total recall”.
The Cabriolet is beautiful in every respect. I actually prefer that Headlamp configuration, the art-deco styling of the DS lends itself to ornamentation that might seem excessive on another car. And the Black/Brown leather combo suits that car (Same combo as the DS the French OAS man drove in Munich).
The Lorraine on the other hand just has a ‘What were they thinking?’ air to it.
DS convertibles are somehow quite plentiful here in Maastricht, just remembered I spotted this one 2 years ago.
Beautiful!
The Cabrio reminds me of ’48-’53 Hudson convertibles with the top down. Both have that wheelbase pushed to the far end look.
On the other hand, the Lorraine sedan is an uncomfortable mating of aero and rectangular forms. Perhaps the designer should have looked to the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud or Daimler 420 limousines for inspiration.